Monday, April 25, 2011

ICC Anti-corruption Bid Hurt by Zulqarnain Haider's Return to Pakistan

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Zulqarnain HaiderThe return of former wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider to Pakistan looks to have ended hopes of uncovering further evidence of corruption within cricket.

Haider is no longer seeking political asylum in England and could even be ready to return to the international arena with Pakistan - just five months after threating to lift the lid on the seedier side of the game.

He has been given assurances over his safety - after he claimed he received death threats - by Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik, despite Scotland Yard looking into fresh allegations of more threats in the last few weeks.

Malik said: "I spoke to Zulqarnain and reassured him that he and his family will be perfectly safe."

In November 2010 he fled to London from Dubai, retired from international cricket and applied for political asylum - after he claimed he was approached by an individual who asked him to fix two matches of an ODI series against South Africa.

As a result of a ban from representing his country, imposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board, Haider was robbed of his chance to play in the ICC World Cup.

He threatened to "name and shame" others he believed to be involved in corruption within the game to the ICC's Anti-corruption and Security Unit, when he fled to London in November 2010.

It seemed a genuine opportunity for the ACSU to make significant inroads into the huge betting markets which have been constantly linked with alleged match-fixing, especially after Haider's team mates' involvement in the spot-fixing events against England last summer.

Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif are all serving bans from international cricket for terms of five to ten years after their conviction by a three-man ICC tribunal.

But the ICC are determined to crack the multi-billion dollar betting giants in their bid to rid the game of the constant allegations of irregularities and now their chances appear to have been badly affected.

The PCB now appear ready to withdraw their ban if Haider goes through a disciplinary process for breaching the players' code of conduct and leaving the team without consent.

Haider's timing is convenient for the PCB as they continue to find a genuine alternative for Kamran Akmal, who has been dropped for the tour of the West Indies and replaced by Mohammad Salman.

Whatever the situation with their team, the PCB have a responsibility to act themselves on the serious accusations made by one of their own players and to simply ignore them and allow Haider back into the side would be a dereliction of duty.

They have a duty of care to their player, but the also have a wider responsibility to the cricket community and simply allowing him to play again will sweep under the carpet the dust storm Haider blew up with his accusations in November.

With Haider back in the Pakistan side, it is unlikely he will carry through his threats to provide key information to the ICC and another chance has been lost to clean up the game.

 

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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/04/25/icc-anti-corruption-bid-hurt-by-zulqarnain-haiders-return-to-pa/

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